


Code Purple

by saltylikecrait



Series: The Time Between [9]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dress Up, F/M, Relationship Problems, Side Finn/Rose - Freeform, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:52:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19321309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: In order to obtain information about lightsaber repairs, Finn and Rey must go undercover as a couple at one of the most luxurious resorts in the galaxy.





	Code Purple

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Finnrey Friday!

“This is the place?”

Finn looked down at the coordinates and back up, looking out into space. “Must be.”

The pair stared out at a luxury space station that drifted in the blackness. Pristine silver steel told them just how recent it had been built. It was the latest, state-of-the-art station that occupied this area, taking the place of the station built during the early days of the Empire that came before it. It was considered one of the most romantic spots in the galaxy to vacation at, sought by the wealthy as a prime honeymoon destination or a worthy place to celebrate an anniversary. Unlike most space stations, this one did not have a purpose in research or refueling, its only purpose was for entertaining the rich.

“Are you sure Rose didn’t want to come here?” asked Rey.

Thinking back to Canto Bight, when he first met Rose, Finn recalled how grumpy she was the entire time. Her anger was aimed specifically at the luxury and the wealth of the casino resort. No, Rose was the last person he wanted to be here with, even if she was his girlfriend. He mentioned that he would have to go on an undercover mission to such a place, and she had zero interest in going anyway.

“No, I’m positive she’d hate it here,” he admitted. “It’s not very enjoyable to go to these kinds of places with her.”

Rey looked surprised. “Really?” she asked. “I thought…” Then she paused. “Wait, Finn. Are you two okay?”

He wasn’t sure what the look on her face meant, it almost seemed to be a combination of emotions and Finn found that he couldn’t read it. It was nice to be alone with Rey for once because with Rose around, he didn’t think Rey acted quite like herself. Here, she was almost back to resembling what he remembered when they first met. She was happy flying the _Falcon_ and to chat away about whatever came to mind. Enthusiasm seemed to radiate from her again. It was nice to see her like this when she had seemed so down for the last couple of months.

But he knew what she meant. Some days, he felt like he was walking on eggshells around Rose and depending what was going on, she sometimes could not be reasoned with. When he mentioned what the mission entailed, Rose grew angrier and angrier and he wasn’t sure if it was just around the type of place he was going to or if Rey had something to do with it. He hated when it was clear there was tension between the two women.

“Well, we’ve got our issues, like every couple,” he observed. “She’s angry at me right now, but I think it’s just because of where we were going to be stationed for this mission.”

Rey looked a little doubtful.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves, right?” he asked, smiling widely at her. “You and I have never really gotten to experience this kind of thing.” At least, experiencing it when not obviously being on a mission for the Resistance. Finn was certain that Rey would find something to eat that she would enjoy.

That wasn’t the reason they came here though. Through a contact, Leia had found someone that was willing to do a trade for some Jedi artifacts to help Rey out. Jedi knowledge in exchange for help to an Outer Rim world to hide from the First Order. Finn had reason to suspect why a scholar would be under threat, but he didn’t want to make his thoughts known yet.

If it helped Rey, he wanted to be a part of it. In his coat pocket, he carried a datastick with coordinates to safe transport for the scholar.

“Have you ever done a docking sequence before?” Rey asked.

“Never.”

“Wanna learn?”

* * *

Finn stood outside the ‘fresher door impatiently. He kept glancing at the chronometer by the bed, counting the minutes before they needed to leave if they wanted to get to their appointed meeting on time. Looking in the nearest mirror, he adjusted the tie around his collar, not used to wearing something so formal. He hoped no one noticed that the suit was just a little tight on his arms, a dead giveaway that his clothing was borrowed.

“Rey?” he called in. “Are you about done?”

“Just about,” she called back, cheerfully.

He just had to wait another minute or two before he heard the door slide open. Curiously, he glanced in Rey’s direction and found himself almost at loss for words.

“I- you look nice.”

And she did. The lavender dip-dyed dress was a far cry from her desert and Jedi attire. He was shocked to even see her put her hair up into one bun and do her makeup carefully with a light brushing of sand-colored eyeshadow and brown eyeliner. 

No, forget _nice._ Rey looked _beautiful._

“Does anything look weird?” she asked, turning her body back and forth to get a better look at all her angles. “I’ve only practiced one other time before we got here. Connix showed me.”

Finn nodded his head. “You look pretty,” he tried to say this with confidence but instead, he panicked when it came out as almost a whisper. He wondered if it was okay to tell another woman she looked nice if he was dating someone else. Thinking of Rose, Finn shook his head; surely helping Rey decide if she looked presentable wouldn’t be something that would anger his girlfriend. They were working undercover, after all.

“Oh.” Rey’s eyes widened as she walked over to Finn. Reaching out, she adjusted his tie. “It’s crooked.” Then she set about straightening it.

Smiling, Finn thanked her. “You’re a lifesaver.”

There was something in her smile that made him wonder what she was thinking. It was a soft smile, but the way her corners twitched was like she were trying to prevent herself from making it wider.

“What’s the time?” she asked, breaking their eye contact.

He looked over her shoulder. “About time to go.”

They headed out of their hotel room, heading down the long hallways until they came to a lift. Figuring out where the restaurant was, they went down six floors and traversed through a casino and shopping area.

“Just how big is this place?” Finn wondered out loud in a huff.

“I regret wearing heels,” Rey added, looking down at her feet. The heel of her shoes were not big by the standards around here, maybe a third of their size, but Rey was not used to walking around with her feet at such and angle. “They pinch.”

“Just a bit farther, Rey, promise.”

Luckily, they had already made reservations for this restaurant – “I can’t believe people eat like this,” Rey commented when she looked around the revolving floors that gave a view of the stars and nearest planets – and their table was ready for them. They had time before their contact was supposed to seek them out, so they took the advantage to eat a dinner of their choosing and catch up with each other using vague terms so to not give away their allegiance with the Resistance. By the way Rey talked, anyone would think she was just an adventurous pilot that knew a thing or two about mechanics. Finn hoped that he would just come across as a guy that sold blasters for a living.

They were enjoying a glass of purple wine that had a curious aroma and some soft ice cream topped with jogan fruit when who they believed to be their contact arrived.

Humanoid and strong, this man was Keshiri, made obvious by the purple tone of his skin.

“Dr. Halder?” Rey asked, cautiously as the man sat down near him.

“I went to school for many years to get that title,” he sighed, confirming who he was. “I take it you two are the people I’m looking for?”

“Should be,” Finn says. “Are we making the trade here?”

The man shrugged. “Don’t see why not.” He rummaged through his bag, pulling out a large square object covered with a cloth. “Mine for yours?” he grinned.

Finn held up the datastick, and the two slid their items across the table to exchange them.

“How did you even get this?” Rey wondered.

“Got it out of a museum’s archives.”

Finn looked aghast. “So, wait. Do you mean you _stole_ it?”

The Keshiri waved him off. “Relax,” he said. “No one’s looking for it. It’s been sitting in a storage box for years.”

Rey looked thoughtful again. “I wonder how it ended up with your people to begin with.”

“Who’s to say?” said Dr. Halder. “The Keshiri share a long history with the Jedi. We might not have been their allies, but we wanted to know all we could about them.” Almost matching Rey’s expression, the man looked out the viewport into open space. “That was a different time. A long time ago.” Then, he stood up. “I wish you both luck. You seem like a nice couple.” He looked at the datastick he held in his hand. “This is the luck I was looking for.”

Then, just as quickly as he appeared, the Keshiri vanished outside the seating area.

Finn and Rey gaped at each other for a moment, before their faces turned into expressions of amusement and they burst into laughter.

“Did he seriously just-?”

“Us?”

“Seriously? Can you imagine-?”

Then, they paused, staring at each other incredulously.

Wait, he wondered, _could_ he imagine himself with Rey? But… he was with Rose, right? So shouldn’t he not be wondering what it would be like to be with someone else? Or was that normal? Finn would admit that Rey enamored him when they first met, but after Rose kissed him on Crait, he gave himself a shot with her instead. He cared about Rose, but after the initial newness of their relationship had died, Finn found himself wondering if they would work out at all. He learned a lot by being with her, but Rose’s attitude hadn't changed much since they met and she still frustrated him to no end – and certainly not in a good way.

His head hurt thinking about all of this and he wondered if he would get in trouble or hurt Rose’s feelings if she knew what he was thinking right now.

But he noticed that as he was lost in thought, he left Rey in a silence that was becoming awkward. Not knowing what to say, he just began to laugh some more, though he noted that it was feigned.

The awkwardness was broken by the Keishiri backtracking through the restaurant, looking alarmed. 

“Code Purple,” he whispered to them before running off.

A different sort of awkwardness overtook Finn. His stomach churned with dread.

“What’s _Code Purple?”_ he asked Rey.

She stood up, looking around nervously. “We’ve got to go.” She grabbed the parcel and slipped it underarm.

“What’s going on?”

“If I think he means what it means – I don’t know if the Resistance uses the term – but we need to get out of here. The First Order might be around.”

Alarmed, Finn looked around and stopped himself. Nodding, he stood up. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

They were leaving the restaurant when they heard a gruff, “Hey you two, you gotta pay for that!”

Rey swore under her breath. “You still got that credit stick the General gave us?”

“Yeah,” Finn fished it out of his pocket.

“Great,” she said. “We need to get out of here.”

But that almost was unnecessary because as they approached the front desk to hand over the data stick, a shot rang out and everyone ducked as a blaster bolt projected across the room. The alarm the noise caused made all the diners break into a panic and in the confusion, Finn and Rey were able to get out.

Making a quick glance at where the blaster was fired from, Finn spotted a woman staring in their direction as the chaos exploded around her. In her hand, she held a blaster that Finn recognized as one issued by the First Order to undercover agents. It was smaller than the rifles he was used to, but far easier to conceal.

“We need to get back to the transport,” he urged Rey through the corridor urgently. Another bolt nearly missed them. He knew if he looked behind them, he would see the agent tailing them.

They sprinted down the corridor, back to the hangar where their transport had been stationed. Rey hit the switch to open the door before the pair jumped inside and shut the door hastily behind them.

Running to the pilot’s seat, Rey got the engine up and running, the console lighting up. “Can these things power up any slower?” she yelled at it, as if to try to will it to work faster.

Finn bounced up and down in his seat urgently, only to grip the armrest when a blaster bolt hit the side of the transport. “Hurry!” he urged.

“Does it look like I’m taking my time?” Rey growled.

The transport started to rumble as it skid across the hangar floor. In a few moments, they felt themselves smooth out as they entered space.

With a relieved sigh, Rey slouched in her seat. “Right, so not a relaxing vacation.”

“But we got the book, right?” Finn asked. “Please tell me it’s the right book!”

She still held the parcel against her side, pushed against the edge of the pilot’s seat while she took flight. Reaching down, she removed the cloth that covered it up, revealing an old and untitled leather-bound book. Carefully, she opened the book to a random page, revealing hand-sketched diagrams of lightsaber designs.

Smiling, she whispered. “It’s the right one.”

Now safe to leave his seat, Finn stood up and went to place his hand on the back of her chair, looking down at the book with her. Then, he looked up, gasping and pointing out the viewport.

“Oh,” Rey gasped along with him. 

They got to see the nebula, clouds of swirling purple flecked with stars, after all.


End file.
